Inspector Gómez engages an interpreter so he can question Maria. During the interview Maria tells him that she is from Poland and was promised a job by Bo. Frightened and distressed she tells how she was kept a prisoner, forced to work as a prostitute, and now has no documents or money. Maria offers to try and identify the house where she was kept. She is detained at the Police Station.

This clip focuses on the role of the interpreter and the use of short consecutive interpreting in the interview. After her arrival at the Police Station the interpreter is briefed about the assignment. During the interview between Inspector Gómez and Maria various aspects of the interpreter’s professional practice are highlighted, including interpreter interventions, responses to a direct request, dealing with self-corrections and hesitations and para-linguistic features of speech.

1. What are the challenges of carrying out a police interview through an interpreter?
2. What kind of information do you think the interpreter needs before the interview starts?

1. What did you notice about the manner of the interpreter throughout the interview?
2. How did the interpreter convey Maria’s feelings apart from her interpretation of the language Maria used?